Mean, Mean Pride

Mean, mean stride.

Mr. 400 Million Hate Machine thinks our health care is top notch.

All the while he's treated by unionized nurses in one of the most progressive health states in the Union. Hell, the current health bill has exceptions for Hawaii b/c Hawaii's current health laws will remain more expansive further then the bill.

Rush, you are an epic asshole.

SEIU - Service Employees International Union - Hell Freezes Over: Rush Limbaugh Loves Union Hospitals and Socialized Medicine:

"Whether he realized it or not, Limbaugh was praising the care he received from union nurses in one of the country's most progressive health care systems. On behalf of the labor movement and health reform advocates everywhere, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT, Rush!"

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This could be interesting.

Daily Kos: White House is investigating whether intel was intentionally withheld re: Flight 253 bomber -Update1:

"Wolffe was later on Rachel Maddow's show by telephone. His words were a bit calmer this time, but again he said that there is an investigation and that there is a question about whether or not the withholding of information was intentional. He said that there is a lot of finger pointing going on in intelligence community, that the president is really 'steamed' and that there is a line of inquiry that goes to the heart of why this wasn't shared. He and Rachel talked about how the intent may not necessarily be malicious, but may be more political."

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Stupid fucking headline. Try 'Iraq'. That's the one where we pissed away most of our cash.

But, still.....

US Spends Ten Times More On Afghanistan Than Airport Security

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Wingnut Welfare. Socialism at it finest.

19 years old.

Report: Bristol Palin may become a political consultant | Raw Story:

"MSNBC's Rachel Maddow has looked into online claims that Bristol Palin, the 19-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin, has launched a political PR and consultancy firm -- and has found the claims to be true."

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Energy can not be destroyed, so....

Robert Lanza, M.D.: Does Death Exist?: Life Is Forever, Says Theory:

"After Bugs gets blown up, there's a moment when you think he's dead. But the show always continues. Likewise, according to Biocentrism, consciousness can't be extinguished in a timeless, spaceless world. That's why you're here despite the preposterous odds against it. Bottom line: you may get flattened now and then, but life can't be stamped out.
.......

Remember, the silly rabbit never dies."

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Freaky

Untooned: Cartoon Characters In Real Life (PICTURES)

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Neat

YouTube - Space Shuttle Launch view from commercial flight!:

"On board Air Canada 981 bound to Toronto from Nassau we saw the launch of the shuttle"

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Non-Human Persons

Something to be very happy about as we start the new year:

Obama and the arts — a love affair? - White House- msnbc.com:

"In his first year, President Barack Obama has marshaled the largest infusion of cultural funding in decades — despite a few stumbles.

Though still far less than arts advocates contend is needed, they have high hopes this president could transform cultural policy, funding and arts education for years to come."

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I think he meant convert to Christianity so as to get way more tale.

Yea, verily, Christianity is a bastion of moral fortitude.

The dick wants regardless of what the 'god' wants.

Brit Hume To Tiger Woods: Convert To Christianity To Recover From Scandal (VIDEO)

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Here's a good example for you, Tiger:

Karl Rove Divorce: GOP Strategist Breaks With Wife Darby

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Go Irish Atheist.

Irish atheists challenge new blasphemy laws | World news | guardian.co.uk:

"Secular campaigners in the Irish Republic defied a strict new blasphemy law which came into force today by publishing a series of anti-religious quotations online and promising to fight the legislation in court.

The new law, which was passed in July, means that blasphemy in Ireland is now a crime punishable with a fine of up to €25,000 (�22,000).

It defines blasphemy as 'publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted'."

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If I had a 400 million dollar contract I don't think I'd have a problem with the system too.

Pay = You Live. Can't Pay = You Die.

Too bad this fat bastard is still with us.

Released from hospital, Limbaugh pronounces US health system ‘just dandy’ | Raw Story:

"'I don't think there is one thing wrong with the American health care system it is working just fine, just dandy,' he said."

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Cool.

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as 'non-human persons' - Times Online:

"Dolphins have been declared the world’s second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”.

Studies into dolphin behaviour have highlighted how similar their communications are to those of humans and that they are brighter than chimpanzees. These have been backed up by anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence.

The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing. Some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in this way each year.

“Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size,” said Lori Marino, a zoologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who has used magnetic resonance imaging scans to map the brains of dolphin species and compare them with those of primates."

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God? Or Gas? Often the two are confused.

Is the "Great Void" One-Billion Light Years Across the Imprint of Another Universe or a Statistical Error?:

"In 2004 astronomers found an enormous hole in the southern hemisphere of the Universe, nearly a billion light-years across, empty of both normal matter such as stars, galaxies, and gas, and the mysterious, unseen 'dark matter.' This was a startling finding, since accepted models of the early universe say that the big bang created an initially uniform cosmic landscape, when viewed on large scales. While earlier studies have shown holes, or voids, in the large-scale structure of the Universe, this discovery dwarfed them all. This 'nothing' is an enormous hole in the cosmos that defies standard cosmology and might just be the imprint of another universe bumping against our own while some astronomers suggested the spot could be a supervoid, a remnant of an early phase transition in the universe."

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DBT Week in Review - 12/31/09

Suck it, 2009. What you got, 2010?

See y'all next year.

DBT/Patterson

Best of 2009 Artist List on JamBase:

"Patterson Hood - Drive-By Truckers

Albums
Patterson Hood
1. Bloodkin - Baby They Told Us We Would Rise Again
On the surface, no frills, meat and potatoes rock (and damn proud of it) but a closer listen reveals the finest songwriting all year as this 24-year-old band sings the horrifying tale of their trip back from the abyss and sees it through to a joyous life-affirming conclusion. It's like that Leaving Las Vegas movie with a happy ending - unbelievable if weren't true. Such well-treaded territory would suck if not for the magnificence of its execution. 'Wild Rhododendrons' is the finest songwriting I've seen all year, and 'The Viper' and 'Heavy With Child' are just as good. Meanwhile 'Easter Eggs' is the best song of man love I've ever heard (including 'Bobby Jean' and 'Angie')."

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Best of 2009 Artist List Part 2 on JamBase:

"Patterson Hood - Drive-By Truckers - Best of Decade List

1. The Glands - The Glands
Patterson Hood by Susan J. Weiand
My favorite album of the decade and also my all time favorite album ever to come out of Athens, GA. It came out in 2000 and is still growing on me nearly a decade later. Unfortunately it came out on Capricorn in the waning days of their attempt at resurgence and virtually no one outside of Athens heard it, but of those who have there is a cult of us who feel exactly like I do about it. They never released a follow up and Ross now manages a record store in town. A truly timeless masterpiece that gets better with every listen (and I've listened to it weekly for over nine years now)."

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Robert Christgau: Rolling Stone Ballot: The 00's Best Songs & Albums:

"#7 Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation's Dark (New West '08)"

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Ken Tucker's Top 10 Recordings Of 2009 : NPR

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The War On Pop: Best Albums of the 2000s: #9 Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera (2001):

"So what does Ray Charles’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music have to do with the Drive-By Truckers’ Southern Rock Opera (2001), you might ask?"

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George Pelecanos - Notes on the Hard Revolution CD:

"Have I made my point? DBT is the rock band of the decade. No joke."

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Drive-By Truckers Go 'Full Speed Ahead' on New Album - Spinner:

"Picking the right ones wasn't such a difficult task, the band tells Spinner. 'It's pretty obvious, really,' guitarist/singer Mike Cooley says. 'It usually is. At some point, you start finding the corner pieces and the ones with the straight edges first.'"

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DBT on Blip.Fm

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Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Love this. The only thing between Isbell and DBT is Maplewood.

Best Of 2009: Americana:

"JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit [Lightning Rod]
The former Drive-By Trucker loads his second solo record with a wealth of songwriting gems. No song will ever use the phrase “rolled-up $20 bill” in a lyric any better than “Cigarettes And Wine.”

MAPLEWOOD Yeti Boombox [Tapete]
The album title pretty much says it all. Brooklyn boys make good. Harmonies and guitar glitter.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities And Rarities 2003-2008) [New West]
The best way to fulfill a recording contract you’ll ever hear. Seems like some of these should have made a record somewhere along the way."

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, "Cigarettes and Wine" | The People's Music:

"“She smelled like cigarettes and wine.” I know that girl, you know that girl– hell, we all know that girl. Well, probably not the exact girl, but we’ve all known a few, and even more so, we all know the feeling he’s singing about. Even if you couldn’t understand English, you’d know exactly what is going on in this song.

If for some reason you don’t own the album, get it here."

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Beat Surrender: Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (Lightning Rod Records)

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Drinks With: Jason Isbell | American Songwriter:

"Was there a moment when you were younger where you heard a pop song and the format of that really clicked for you?

Oh yeah. I don’t know what artist in particular but a lot of that probably came from ‘80s radio for me: Prince, Crowded House, Until Tuesday and a lot of those bands they were playing on the radio then—Colin Hay from Men at Work. That kind of stuff really appealed to me when I was really young and first started to write. I loved how those songs all fit together."

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Watch this: Embedded New Year’s Eve Marathon with 15 new artists! | Current Music Blog:

"Embedded Tour Stop Special with White Rabbits, Black Lips, Jason Isbell, Fucked Up & Amazing Baby. Premieres December 31 at 10pm EST.

Got big plans for NYE? Catch Embedded on New Year’s Day or over the weekend, too!

Here’s when to turn on the TV:

Thursday night: 12/31 starting at 7pm EST/4pm PST, then again starting at 12 midnight EST/9pm PST.
Friday afternoon: 1/1 starting at 4pm EST/1pm PST
Saturday morning: 1/2 starting at 10am EST/7am PST
Sunday afternoon: 1/3 starting at 5pm EST/2pm EST

And, of course, once they’ve aired you’ll be able to watch all 15 Tour Stops at current.com/tourstop, plus our channels on Hulu, YouTube and MySpace."

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Vic Chesnutt

Swampland:Memories of Vic Chesnutt By Daniel Hutchens

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Vic Chesnutt's death-obsessed folk cuts deep -- and personally | Pop & Hiss | Los Angeles Times:

"Chesnutt's very real ensnarement in the insurance system lends an uncomfortable yet deeply compelling undertone to his lyrical attempts to make peace with illness, his paraplegism and death. Chesnutt doesn't hold out too much hope for whatever healthcare bill makes it through the Senate, either -- 'What will pass will be weak, the powers that be will be happy and the insurance companies will be thrilled,' he believes. Those facts only remind a listener that the small braveries of an album like 'At the Cut' can, if not offer solutions, at least be a bit of comfort and companionship. Or solace that Chesnutt doesn't have to figure out even bigger problems, like how to fix California's ailing economy.

'You guys are the most screwed of all,' he said, laughing."

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Donate to the family:

CASH Music: Kristin Hersh

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Brent Best

Brent Best | KXT 91.7 | Public Music Radio for Dallas Fort Worth Denton

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Will Johnson

My Artist Of The Decade- Will Johnson - Americana and roots music - No Depression

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Muscle Shoals.... uh... Fabric

Chanin skirt wraps tree at White House | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL:

"After a few more words, it all clicked. A woman who knew Chanin and worked at the Chicago fashion boutique Ikram had contacted Rogers, who was looking for a designer to make a tree skirt for the White House's Blue Room. Rogers asked Chanin, founder of the Florence-based fashion and lifestyle company Alabama Chanin. She said yes."

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Music

A really marvelous night for a moondance, apparently.

Van Morrison, 64, Welcomes Baby Boy

Update:

Not so marvelous, then:

Morrison baby announcement was hoax: statement - Yahoo! News

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Darkness. Imprisoning me. What? I said "Darkness. Imprisoning me..." What? Never mind.

Metallica drummer struggles with ringing in ears - CNN.com

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Here's some vid I shot of Chuck Prophet at the Great American Music Hall back in November:

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Make a Resolution or Mircale My Ass

This is excellent. I'll be moving my money at the beginning of the year.

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Sigh. Crap journalism at its finest. Always has to be the trailer park after the tornado.

Christmas 'Miracle' As Mother, Infant Resuscitated After Showing No Signs Of Life During Labor:

Mike Hermanstorfer credits "the hand of God."

"We are both believers ... but this right here, even a nonbeliever – you explain to me how this happened. There is no other explanation," he said.

OK, Mike. Let me do some simple bolding for an earthly explanation:

"'They hand him to me, he's absolutely lifeless,' Hermanstorfer said. The doctors went to work on Coltyn as Hermanstorfer held him, and soon he began to breath.

'His life began in my hands,' Hermanstorfer said. 'That's a feeling like none other. Life actually began in the palm of my hands.'

Martin said Tracy Hermanstorfer's pulse returned even before she was wheeled out of the room and into surgery.

So the 'miracle' occurred after human doctors and nurses worked on both mother and child. Worked feverishly, I would imagine. With their human hands that are connected to the human brains. Brains they've filled with knowledge about, oh, I don't know, medicine, maybe?

Thus, man had no hand in this and it was all some 'gods' doing.

The 'Miracle on Ice' was more miraculous than this.

I'm sure the doctors and nurses are very glad that their many years of hard work studying and training mean so little when some god can swoop in after they've busted their asses and claim all of the glory. 'God' is a bit douchey, don't you think?

It is a miracle that I don't devote my life to seeking and punching 97% of all journalist in this country.

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Sucker TPs.

TeaBaggers: Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the GOP.

They can't even leave their own party.

FAIL.

Majority Of Tea Party Group's Spending Went To GOP Firm That Created It | TPMMuckraker

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Change by executive order that will be reversed immediately by President Palin.

Jeez, you figure the same could be done for DADT.

Changish.

Daily Kos: Change: Obama orders creation of Declassification Center:

"* It establishes a National Declassification Center at the National Archives to enable agency reviewers to perform collaborative declassification in accordance with priorities developed by the Archivist with input from the general public.
* For the first time, it establishes the principle that no records may remain classified indefinitely and provides enforceable deadlines for declassifying information exempted from automatic declassification at 25 years.
* For the first time, it requires agencies to conduct fundamental classification guidance reviews to ensure that classification guides are up-to-date and that they do not require unnecessary classification.
* It eliminates an Intelligence Community veto of certain decisions by the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel that was introduced in the Bush order.

While the Government must be able to prevent the public disclosure of information that would compromise the national security, a democratic government accountable to the people must be as transparent as possible and must not withhold information for self-serving reasons or simply to avoid embarrassment."

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"búyòngxiè".... "xièxiè"....."duìbuqǐ"....

Sorry. Just practicing.

Gettin' shit done, while we bow to redneck, dumbfuck Congressman from backwater, asshole states.

Git 'er done!

China mandates renewable energy while U.S. deepens its dithering - Jeff McMahon - Scorched Earth - True/Slant:

"As often as socialism and communism are evoked to discredit the Obama Administration’s agenda, it can be illustrative to observe how communist governments actually behave.

China’s National People’s Congress convened on Dec. 22. Three days later it passed a law requiring China’s energy companies to buy all energy generated through renewable sources–wind, solar power, hydropower, biomass, geothermal and ocean energy.

What if that energy is more expensive? Buy it anyway, the legislature told the energy companies, or pay twice its cost in fines.

What if that energy can’t be accessed with the existing power grid? Improve the grid, China told the energy companies."

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I love this chick. As one who is practicing yoga at the moment, she's like my poster girl for cool.

Tara Stiles: Is Religion Ruining Our Health?:

"Self-doubt is a part of most everyone's life at some point. When we forget that we are powerful, loving beings, full of potential and endless possibilities, we are subject to fall into the traps of teachings that convince us that we are unworthy, unholy, and small. Finding the answers in something outside of our selves can feel more secure, especially when lots of other people are doing it. Most of us are taught faith when we are young. We are given a set of rules and behaviors to live by 'or else' bad things will happen and there will be no eternal salvation. Religion takes the trust away from the individual and replaces it with an insurance plan for eternal salvation paid off over a lifetime with rules and fear. Is going to a building once a week to be guided to a connection with God useful or destructive? Why can't we plug into divinity each moment without the help of an institution? Feeling and intuition can guide us through a very grounded and real spiritual path."

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Truly Awful People

Truly Awful People:

Daily Kos: Remember Bush's response to 2001 Shoe Bomber Attack?

Northwest Flight 253: al Qaeda Leaders Behind Terror Plot Were Released by U.S. - ABC News:

"Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing in a Monday statement that vowed more attacks on Americans.

American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an 'art therapy rehabilitation program' and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials."

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Fuck Jim DeMint. Asshole.

Who's running the TSA? No one, thanks to Sen. Jim DeMint | McClatchy:

"The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama's nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union."

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And while we clean up their shit pile, they attempt to rewrite history.

Bush inherited 9/11. OK.

Mary Matalin: Bush 'Inherited' 9/11 Attacks (VIDEO)

Talking Points Memo | Breaking News and Analysis:

"Interesting Similarities

Bush Administration: Brought down by full weight of failures of Bush admin policies.

Obama Administration: Brought down by full weight of failures of Bush admin policies."

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I can only afford (not really afford, but...) the fine for ignoring the mandate. No subsidies for me. Nice work, Dems.

Health Reform Subsidy Calculator -- Premium Assistance for Coverage in Exchanges/Gateways

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David Simon On Health Care Bill: "Only One Thing Can Make People This Stupid, And That's Money":

"But then the critics of a system like that immediately cry socialism.
And of course it's socialism. These ignorant motherfuckers. What do they think group insurance is, other than socialism? Just the idea of buying group insurance! If socialism is a taint that you cannot abide by, then, goddamn it, you shouldn't be in any group insurance policy. You should just go out and pay the fucking doctors because when you get 100,000 people together as part of anything, from a union to the AARP, and you say, 'Because we have this group actuarially, more of us are going to be healthier than not and therefore we'll be able to carry forward the idea of group insurance and everybody will have an affordable plan...' That's fuckin' socialism. That's nothing but socialism."

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The Rational Case For 'Kill The Bill':

"It's important though, to note, that the Howard Deans and Jane Hamshers of the world neither want LITERALLY want to destroy President Barack Obama's domestic agenda in a fit of ideological pique, nor do they want to consign millions of uninsured Americans to their deaths. In fact, they desire the opposite: more Americans safely insured, and more electoral success for Democrats -- the kind that comes when Democrats actually keep their promises. You want to talk about people who are, in fact, high on drugs? Let's talk about the Democratic strategists and their journalistic enablers who believe letting down the base is a good thing."

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Daily Kos: The left flank:

"But the larger point is that the health care debate NEEDED TO BE MOVED TO THE LEFT. And while there were way too many people who defended whatever was being done by the Obama administration, shouting down anyone who disagreed, a great service was being done by those who helped pull the discussion to the left, and even were able to make great strides in making certain things acceptable, included in the House bill, excluded from the Senate bill or countering the lies of the right."

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Excellent read with a great perspective.

Daily Kos: HCR Bill - a Frenchman's viewpoint:

"The present bill has many flaws; most of these flaws can be corrected by subsequent bills; but it has also, in my opinion, the following merits (I'll make it short - 4 items only):

1. It establishes healthcare as a universal right - and that means, also, a universal duty! Healthcare has a cost, and everybody must pay for it othewise it doesn't work. This means a complete change of perspective. Once people have accepted that, the landscape will be completely different.

I think this is the key point and even liberals find it hard to swallow. Many oppose mandates because they are pissed off by such and such flaw in the bill (notably the fact that their money will be going to private insurance). I understand that but if you believe in universal healthcare
you must accept that you will be forced to pay even when you're in good health and your money will be going to private interests, notably the pharma industry and you will be pissed off. This happens in all the countries which have good health care (at least, it happens in France) but we have health care and that is what matters foremost. It's up to us to try and fight the lobbies when necessary and to elect politicians who will protect health care against private interests. There is no miracle here."

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RIP Vic Chesnutt

Had a chance to go see Vic for the first time in SF at the end of November. I didn't go.

I've always skipped across Vic's work with the promise that some day I'll more fully explore his talent. I'm not the greatest at multitasking when it comes to listening to the music I should be listening too.

I hate that his passing is what finally snapped my attention to his genius.

Vic Chesnutt on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

'Flirted' may be one of the most beautiful suicide songs ever considered. Too poignant, unfortunately.

My heart and thoughts go out to all of my beautiful friends in Athens who have had to endure one shitty year. May peace and life be more present in 2010.

And without getting to high up on a high horse......

Vic Chesnutt Dies; Fund Set Up To Help Family Pay Singer-Songwriter's $70,000 Medical Debt:

"According to the Los Angeles Times, Chesnutt faced $70,000 in hospital bills, a subject he brought up in a Pop & Hiss interview earlier this month. From the interview:

I was making payments, but I can't anymore and I really have no idea what I'm going to do. It seems absurd they can charge this much. When I think about all this, it gets me so furious. I could die tomorrow because of other operations I need that I can't afford. I could die any day now, but I don't want to pay them another nickel."

Folk-rocker Vic Chesnutt dies in Ga. at 45 - Yahoo! News:

"However, Chesnutt had recently struggled with a lawsuit filed by a Georgia hospital after he racked up surgery bills totaling some $70,000, the Athens newspaper reported. He said he couldn't afford more than hospitalization insurance and couldn't keep up with the payments.

The problems baffled his Canadian bandmates, Chesnutt said.

'There's nowhere else in the world that I'd be facing the situation I'm in right now. They cannot understand what kind of society would inflict that on their population,' he said. 'It's terrifying.'"

Alabama Ass Whuppin': Health Reform Getting Better?:

"Learn to raise hell early and often or get the hell out of the way.

Here comes the high horse part:

Have you raised hell today? Last week? Week before? Next week? Week after? Next March? Next October? 2011?

Contact the White House | The White House

United States House of Representatives, 111th Congress, 1st Session

U.S. Senate: Senators Home

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CASH Music: Kristin Hersh:

"This page is a tribute to Vic Chesnutt - here to accept donations on behalf of his family. 100% of all funds raised will go to Vic's family."

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From Patterson:

Drive-By Truckers:

"My beloved town is heartbroken this holiday upon losing Vic Chesnutt on Xmas morning.

Vic was a friend and absolutely the greatest writer I ever knew. Bar none"

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Via Elliot of the Dexateens:

The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | Vic Chesnutt Comes Out Of His Shell - Exclusive Tracks Here

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Happy Holidaze

I'm checking out for a few days to focus on the War on Christmas. We are really close to winning this time. If all goes to plan, next year we'll be celebrating the birth of Dr. John.

Have a good one and be nice.

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And here's some Brent Best just because he's great.

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Health Reform Getting Better?

Markos makes my point far better (per norm) than I do.

Obama may very well be playing 11th dimension chess. But I can't count on that.

The squeaky wheel gets greased. It always does. So, Obama may be playing the base in order for us to become damn squeaky. Then again, he may not and he's just a massive failure at governance.

But, there is no final bill for HRC. Until there is, progressives need to continue to raise holy hell pushing the final product more to the left.

Those liberals who are appalled that we are taking on Obama and calling him out,need to move the fuck out of the way. They're causing far more harm than good. Learn to raise hell early and often or get the hell out of the way.

Never trust your president to do the right thing.

Daily Kos: Markos on Countdown: Don't stop fighting for change:

"Once we have a final bill, and things are set in stone, then we can re-examine that bill. But right now, things can still change. To stop fighting for that change, to me, is patently ridiculous.

Any positive change from here on out is going to be because we keep pushing from the left not because we say, 'Good enough. Let’s pass it.'"

Here's an article, hidden away, no mainstream coverage, but a smart maneuver. These little things make me think something is more afoot than meets the eye.

Obama seeks drug imports outside of health bill | Reuters

Also, some big wonky news coming from Sen. Sanders. There could be a back door, single payer plan in the works, but it is just the seed. Will take a while to flourish. But, still, movement in the right direction.

Daily Kos: This HCR Bill: 45,000,000 Get Single-Payer Vermont Health Care

Sanders Strengthens Senate Health Bill - Newsroom: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont):

"Sanders urges progressives to continue fighting for House provisions--including the $14 billion for community health centers, progressive taxation as opposed to taxing healthcare benefits, and a strong public option.

But can we get a better bill and still get 60 votes?

'Well, that remains to be seen,' Sanders says. 'What is being increasingly discussed all over the country is this is extremely undemocratic. You've got a strong majority in the House who want to do something, and all of that effort is nullified by one or two people in the Senate. Does that make sense to you? I don't think it's fair. So I think we want to take a look at how we deal with a dysfunctional situation like we've seen on the Senate healthcare bill, and you know, maybe some good will come out of that.'"

The real sausage is being made behind closed doors:

(12 Angy Men was the very first bit of acting I ever did. I think I was #11)

Late night, closed-door deals will shape final health bill - Yahoo! News:

"The internal dynamics of a conference can sometimes be reminiscent of Reginald Rose's '12 Angry Men,' a play about tension in a deadlocked jury, where stamina, personality, ego and sometimes stubbornness can play major roles, said former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska .

'People like myself who have run for office before, we have 25 percent more capacity for self-delusion than most people,' said Kerrey, now the president of the New School in New York . 'In conference, it comes down to, 'If they get to know me, they'll support me.'

Fatigue could also become a factor, Kerrey said, particularly among Senate conferees. The House adjourned last week for a lengthy holiday break, but the Senate has worked almost nonstop since Thanksgiving and is poised to work up to Christmas Eve .

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So, I find a little positive in the health care fight. I'm swinging a bit back towards Obama knowing what he's doing. Then.... this:

War Room - Salon.com:

"The idea has 'become a source of ideological contention between the left,' Obama said, adding, 'I didn't campaign on the public option.'

The president's claim that he 'didn't campaign on the public option' is at best on shaky ground, factually speaking. It's unmistakably true that during the campaign his plan for reform included a public option."

That's a goddamn lie on par with "We didn't go to war with Iraq over WMDs".

We aren't stupid, Obama:

Think Progress � FLASHBACK: Obama Repeatedly Touted Public Option Before Refusing To Push For It In The Final Hours

And it continues......

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Worst Decade

Good stuff in this S&R post.

Scholars and Rogues � The 2000s in review: worst decade of the decade:

"This was a decade during which a man with the equivalent of a sixth grade education appeared to run the Western World. This was a decade in which the political hacks who actually did took the “free” out of “free market” while pirating U.S. coffers like crack-addicted sexaholics in a Tijuana whorehouse. This was a decade in which the methodical thinker who replaced the Three Stooges in the White House was given eight weeks to recreate the Garden of Eden."

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"This was a decade during which the Dow opened around 11,600 and closed around 10,500. Meanwhile, the national debt began around $5.6 trillion and reached around $12.9 trillion. Don’t worry, though. Lots of people got rich. Just not us."

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A Decade of the Internet - Yahoo! News:

"Over the past 10 years, the phenomenal growth of the Web has fundamentally changed the way we live, work and communicate. In November, a Pew Research Center study showed some startling changes in how we use the Internet:

- 2000: 46% of adults used the Internet
- 2009: 77-79% of adults use the Internet

- 2000: 5% of households had broadband
- 2009: 63% of households have broadband

- 2000: 0% connected to Internet wirelessly
- 2009: 54-56% connect to the Internet wirelessly"

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But it's so far away.....

Woman shot, killed in Zip City | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

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Water, water everywhere....

AFP: Scientists discover Earth-like, water-rich planet: study

Glint of sunlight confirms liquid in lake on Saturn's moon Titan

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Don’t Worry About the Left

Amen, amen, a-freakin-men.

Daily Kos: What bill do you think you're supporting?:

"And every time progressives shrug their shoulders and say, 'all right, we'll take whatever we can get', you empower those critics. Rather than draw a line in the sand and bolster the efforts of true reformists, you are leaving them high and dry. And the weaker progressives get, the more Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman and Blanche Lincoln and the rest of that bunch can do to make this not just a bad bill politically, but a bad bill policy wise.

It's clear at this point that if we get anything at all, it won't be much good. That's an obvious political reality. But every shrug of the shoulder helps make this even worse."

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Agreed, Russ, but why didn't you, jeez, I don't know... vote against the goddamn bill?!? Why are you conceding any power that you might have as a Progressive to Liebercrats?

Russ Feingold: In the News - Press Releases:

"“I’ve been fighting all year for a strong public option to compete with the insurance industry and bring health care spending down. I continued that fight during recent negotiations, and I refused to sign onto a deal to drop the public option from the Senate bill. Unfortunately, the lack of support from the administration made keeping the public option in the bill an uphill struggle. Removing the public option from the Senate bill is the wrong move, and eliminates $25 billion in savings. I will be urging members of the House and Senate who draft the final bill to make sure this essential provision is included."

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Really, Rahm. Really?

We'll see how that works out for you and the President.

You are eternally fucked after this bit of snide bullshit.

Daily Kos: Rahm Emanuel: Don’t Worry About the Left

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Weren't these suppose to be the smartest people in the world?

Drew Westen: Leadership, Obama Style, and the Looming Losses in 2010: Pretty Speeches, Compromised Values, and the Quest for the Lowest Common Denominator:

"Somehow the president has managed to turn a base of new and progressive voters he himself energized like no one else could in 2008 into the likely stay-at-home voters of 2010, souring an entire generation of young people to the political process. It isn't hard for them to see that the winners seem to be the same no matter who the voters select (Wall Street, big oil, big Pharma, the insurance industry). In fact, the president's leadership style, combined with the Democratic Congress's penchant for making its sausage in public and producing new and usually more tasteless recipes every day, has had a very high toll far from the left: smack in the center of the political spectrum.

What's costing the president and courting danger for Democrats in 2010 isn't a question of left or right, because the president has accomplished the remarkable feat of both demoralizing the base and completely turning off voters in the center. If this were an ideological issue, that would not be the case. He would be holding either the middle or the left, not losing both."

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Still good to remember how evil and fucked up the previous overlords were, though.

Would have been nice to prosecute a bunch of them, but, nah, not enough time with all of the screwing-over-the folks-who-voted-you-in by the current bunch.

Report: Bush Admin Raised Terror Alert Based On Con Man's Al Jazeera 'Decoding' Scam | TPMMuckraker:

"The report deals another blow to the credibility of the Department of Homeland Security's color-coded terror alert system, and comes after Ridge's claim that the system was used as a political tool when he was DHS secretary.

The man who prompted the December 2003 Orange alert was Dennis Montgomery, who has since been embroiled in various lawsuits, including one for allegedly bouncing $1 million in checks during a Caesars Palace spree. His former lawyer calls him a 'habitual liar engaged in fraud.'"

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And the remainders of this band of assholes has all but prevent any type of meaningful legislation from ever passing.

But I'm sure the feckless Democrats who call themselves "Progressives" will not do one goddamn thing about it.

Op-Ed Columnist - A Dangerous Dysfunction - NYTimes.com:

"Some people will say that it has always been this way, and that we’ve managed so far. But it wasn’t always like this. Yes, there were filibusters in the past — most notably by segregationists trying to block civil rights legislation. But the modern system, in which the minority party uses the threat of a filibuster to block every bill it doesn’t like, is a recent creation.

The political scientist Barbara Sinclair has done the math. In the 1960s, she finds, “extended-debate-related problems” — threatened or actual filibusters — affected only 8 percent of major legislation. By the 1980s, that had risen to 27 percent. But after Democrats retook control of Congress in 2006 and Republicans found themselves in the minority, it soared to 70 percent."

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Grandpa McCain lying again.

Think Progress � Flashback: McCain Refused To Grant 30 Seconds Of Time During Iraq War Debate:

"Unfortunately, McCain’s memory is suffering. In fact, McCain has engaged in the very same behavior that he was criticizing Franken for yesterday."

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Sometimes I really wish the 'fiction' part was replaced with 'reality'.

From Uruguay to Hollywood: Watch the Video:

"Here's a fairy tale that could only happen in the movies. Man makes YouTube video. Goes to Hollywood. Gets pots of money and a movie deal. Except this story is true.

An unknown producer from Uruguay, Fede Alvarez, shelled out about $300 to create a cool video of a robot invasion in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The four-minute short, 'Ataque de Panico!' (Panic Attack) features ginormous (but slow-moving) weapon-wielding robots that blow stuff up."

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